FEAR XIII

You are the only thief you need to fear.Other people can take things away from you, but only you can steal your own peace and strength. Only you can hold on to all the extra baggage that is weighing you down. You fear loosing the very things that are draining your vitality.

There are two voices inside you. One says that you must have insurance. "Bad times are coming and you cannot take care of yourself. Unless you have some advantage you will be trampled underfoot. So find some power and security. Get more money, prestige and titles." With all this you make a mask and hide behind it because you believe you are week and inadequate.

There is also within you a quieter voice. If you are still you can hear this other voice. "You are strong, you already have enough-indeed you have too much. You have become a walking junkyard of unnecassary activities, things and strivings. You believe all these things benefit you by protecting you. In fact, they smother you. Get rid of your protections. Stand naked. Learn again that you were born with all that you need, that you are a part of the flow of life!"

If you stop worrying about the past and planning for the future you will be able to experience the pleasure now-moment. Only when you are truly in the now can you hear the rhythm and dance with it. Think of the petal on a daisy. It has no extra coat for a cold night, no umbrella for a hot day. Such protections would way the petals down and eventually bend it away form the rest of the flower.Then there would be loneiness and feelings of being different and inadequate. it would do no good to add more overcoats and umbrellas; the extra weight would only make the problem worse.

Shedding your protection is uncomfortable. You will feel exposed when you drop your baggage. You will feel tempted to save a little something-just on case! Do not do it.

Stand alone in the desert. You will begin again to see what is around you, to feel your strength. You will learn that you are at home.